How Does a Motorcycle Engine Work?

Motorcycles have become very popular in the 21st century. There is no evidence on who came up or invented the first motorcycle but it is a descendant of the safety cycle. It is said that the Idea came to many different engineers at the same time however the current structure of the motorcycle was developed in 1914. A motorcycle is generally described as any vehicle that has less than four wheels on the ground. There are various classifications of motorcycles such as the hack which is a motorcycle attached with a sidecar and the trike which is a short motorized tricycle.

The engine the ‘heart’of the motorcycle

The engine of a motorcycle consists of a cylinder block, a head containing a valve train and pistons. Basically a bike moves when its pistons transform energy into rotary motion. Motorcycles engines are classified by the capacity of the combustion chambers and the number of cylinders the engine has. The most popular engine currently is the four cylinder engine, which has cylinders arranged in a row or a V shape. The power output of the motorcycle as it relates to the size of the combustion chamber determines the capacity of a given bike. To get a deeper understanding how the engine works a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering would help.

Components of the transmission

The transmission of a motorcycle consists of a drive system, clutch and a gear set. A motorcycle has four to six gear but smaller bikes could have as few as two gears. These gears are put into action by shifting a lever which moves forks through the transmission. The clutch has the purpose of putting on and off power from the engine to the transmission. The clutch consists of spring loaded plates that when pressed together connect the engine to the transmission. The drive system is the one that helps to transmit engine power to the rear wheel for the motorcycle to move.